I’m a food and travel writer who recently moved to the Washington, D.C, area from Austin by way of New Orleans, New York, and Rhode Island. I’ve tried lots of odd jobs over the years like cheesemonger, farmers market coordinator, and youth gardening instructor. Writing is the only thing that ever stuck. Today my work has appeared in over 30 national and local magazines and on websites like Saveur, Condé Nast Traveler, Lucky Peach, NPR's The Salt, Bon Appétit, Travel + Leisure, Roads & Kingdoms, New York Magazine, Eater National, and many others. I also report on local dining news as associate editor of Eater DC.

I’ve always been interested in the intersection of history, culture, and food. I like a trendy restaurant as much as the next food writer, but my favorite stories highlight overlooked food and beverage traditions. So, in the name of journalism, I've sipped rare cognac in France, visited pepper plantations in Cambodia, tasted raw cacao in Vietnam, eaten paczki in Poland, and tracked down authentic barbacoa in South Texas.

You can reach me at meredithbethune dot com or on Twitter: @meredithbethune. Keep up with my work by subscribing to my monthly newsletter.